Electronic apparatuses that have a vibrating component such as an HDD unit include personal computers (PCs). PCs with an integrated liquid crystal display (LCD) are widely used as this type of PCs. Briefly, this type of PC has a front cover, an LCD unit, a chassis, a shielding member, a hinge, and a stand. The LCD unit is an information display unit. The chassis is disposed behind the LCD unit; a circuit board, the HDD unit, and other units are mounted on the chassis. The shielding member shields the circuit board and units. The hinge, which links the main body of the PC and the stand together, tilts the main body of the PC and has other functions. The stand is attached to the hinge to support the main body of the PC. When the HDD unit and other vibrating components are attached to this type of PC, rubber bushings, gaskets, or another vibration absorbing members are used.
As for HDD unit attachment, Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 06-44761 describes a structure in which an HDD unit is secured within a substantially Ω-shaped fixture in a suspended state; the fixture has springs formed by, for example, cutting and bending. In Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 11-86519, an HDD unit is protected from external pressure by the combined use of vibration isolators to suspend the HDD unit.
The HDD unit in an electronic apparatus such as a PC is a vibrating component that generates rotational vibration when it is rotated at high speed. When this vibrating component is secured to a chassis, the chassis may cause resonance due to the rotational vibration and may generate harsh sounds, depending on the method of securing the vibrating component. To suppress this type of vibration and undesired sound, rubber bushings and gaskets have been used.
The rubber bushing and gasket are different from metal parts such as the chassis and are separated from the housing structure, increasing the number of parts and man-hours in attachment. The rubber bushing and gasket receive stress as buffering members in transit and is deteriorated over many years of use, so they may be removed during maintenance, resulting in insufficient reliability. In addition, the worker considers positions at which the rubber bushing and gasket are attached; another task is generated in a bonding task in which a peeling tape is used. Another problem is that when the original elasticity of the rubber bushing or gasket at the time of attachment is reduced due to aging, it is difficult to suppress vibration in a stable manner.
There is a structure in which a gasket is placed between a member on the vibrating side and a member on the chassis side to make a contact between the members stable. In this structure, however, a clearance in which the gasket is placed changes depending on the height of a drawn metal material or the bend or warp of a metal material. Accordingly, even if a gasket is interposed, the function of absorbing vibration may be impaired and thereby vibration sounds may be generated. In the structure in which a gasket is interposed, a small area, of a joint part, with which the gasket is brought into contact is also problematic because a securing force is small and vibration is not adequately suppressed.